No way
Have you been following the hullabaloo which greeted the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart, when he restated Church rules on funerals and reiterated the ban on ‘secular items’ at funerals – romantic ballads, pop or rock music, political songs, football club songs, that sort of stuff? He said: “At the funerals of children […]
Pot ash
When ceramist Chris Smedley was asked by a client if he could make a unique commemorative piece using the ashes of the client’s father, he didn’t know what to expect. When he set about experimenting by using the ash in a glaze, he found that it produced a range of colours from green to blue […]
Cheap boos
Real ale made by boutique brewers has at last begun to drive down sales of lager for the first time in half a century reports yesterday’s Observer. Intriguingly, the Society of Independent Brewers (Siba) reports that while its 420 members enjoyed a combined sales rise of 4 per cent last year, its smallest and boutique-iest […]
Something else for the weekend
Here’s a lovely story about how they did things in a braver and more beautiful age. The occasion is the unveiling of a memorial on Patcham Down to the 53 Indian soldiers who died in the first world war. It stands just yards (metres for younger readers) from the Chattri Memorial, which stands on the […]
Knowing you knowing best
Yesterday I drove to Norfolk to meet Anne Beckett-Allen and her husband Simon. It was well worth every mile of the journey. They greeted me with warmth and kindness. They took me somewhere nice for lunch. And we chatted – oh, about death and funerals, mostly. What else? Anne and Simon have been notably successful. […]
The female of the species is more deathy than the male?
I’ve been doing my bit to promote the Good Funeral Guide (all the while thinking that, really, if it’s any good, it’ll do that for itself). If I send a press release to a local radio station, chances are they’ll interview me. I go and sit in front of a mike and answer predictable questions: […]
Grave houses
A delightful post here from Tammi Thiele over at Escape to the Silent Cities. Tammi is a graveyard rabbit to her fingertips. She was married in a graveyard. Dressed in full Victorian mourning. On Hallowe’en. I’d never heard or read of grave houses before I came across this. They seem to be native to the […]
They think it’s all over…
It’s interesting to note that two of the most important drivers for change in modern funerals have come, not from pro-active consumers or wild-eyed visionaries, but from urgent if mundane economic and environmental needs. They are, famously, natural burial and’ less famously, the held-over cremation. Ken West, for all that he is a visionary, made […]
Message to Claire Taylor
Hi Claire Sadly, the email address you gave me must have been stymied by a typo. So I am replying by blog! You asked about bicycle hearses. So far as I know the only serviceable bicycle hearse in the country right now is that built by Paul Sinclair of Motorcycle Funerals. Paul is somewhat of […]
Bloggledegook
In moments of sadness the members in the family or good friends would not manage to acquire straightforward decisions on flowers, food, music and so on. If you want your burial ceremony being carried out in a very unique way, funeral cost insurance plan will acquire care of that. Numerous firms deliver different types of […]
